Anthony Joshua has made a surprising revelation about his future aspirations for his eight-year-old boy, JJ. He said he would want his son to crunch numbers rather than take up boxing.
The heavyweight champion, celebrated as one of the UK’s brightest sports icons, disclosed this during a candid interview on Desert Island Discs.
Joshua, 34, said: “I don’t think it’s a wise decision [to follow in my footsteps]…If I was to choose for him I’d ask him to probably look at accountancy because I think it’s good to understand numbers. So when you have that kind of insight you can now become an entrepreneur and invest in business. I want him to focus on business.”
The boxer contended that he did everything possible to be a father first and a fighter second. He said: “He is cool. He gets it. I have always kept boxing out…So he gets that. He knows that I’m just dad.”
Joshua revealed that he gained a deeper appreciation for family relationships after spending five days in a pitch-black dark room to escape the pressures of his career, according to Daily Mail.
He said: “I went in Monday and came out Friday…When I was in the dark room there was that feeling where I was like I just need to have a bit more meaningful conversation, a bit more time that I can spend with my mum, my dad, my aunty, uncle, sisters. ‘How are you?’ Not what is going on. How are you feeling? Lets go on a walk and catch up. It just kind of brought home what is important.”
Joshua mentioned he is considering retirement within the next couple of years, largely due to the inherent risks of boxing.
He said: “Someone asked me the other day when am I retiring and I was like in about two years. I was thinking to myself as a fighter you should say I don’t even think about retiring. I don’t think about my health. All I want to do is conquer. That’s the true warrior spirit. But naturally in your quiet moments in your dark room you have time to think. I do wonder and I do say to myself after all of this is said and done the one thing I would hope for the most is to keep my health in tact. Its your health that is the most important thing that you’re putting on the line.”
Joshua explained that fighters often avoid discussing the sport’s impact on their physical and mental well-being.
“None of us fighters talk about our health after. We can notice it in fighters when their health is deteriorating but we never actually talk about it amongst ourselves. All we focus on is winning.”
The star disclosed plans to open a care home for retired boxers in poor health after he retires from the sport.
He said: “That would be part of my boxing legacy that I gave something back to the sport that made me.”
